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Student Wellness Council

In December 2015, FUHSD Superintendent Polly Bove introduced a plan to involve interested members of the community as part of a Community Council on Student Wellness. The council would be established to initiate an exploration of ways in which the school community could begin to address persistent concerns regarding student stress and sleep deprivation directly impacting the achievement and experience of students in our schools.

The formation of the taskforce was motivated by a number of factors. For a number of years, several schools in the district had been involved in Stanford University’s “Challenge Success” program which had specifically identified school factors contributing to increased stress and reduced sleep levels for students along with strategies and approaches to address these issues. Other survey evidence from FUHSD schools also emphasized concerns about student stress, sleep deprivation and school-life balance. Additionally, the district was approached by a group of parents who were interested in moving schools to later start times as a solution to sleep and stress issues.

The Community Wellness Council was formed in January 2016. To initiate the work of the council, district staff developed a focus for action that was labeled the “defined problem” as the summation of concerns about student wellness issues related to sleep, stress, and balancing school and personal/family life: “Students struggle with wellness, school-life balance and stress, and sleep deprivation.” The council was also charged with responsibility for reviewing other priority student health issues including nutrition and mental health.